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Author: henrymservice

“Is it possible to let people taste the joy of making a positive impact for as little as a dollar? It’s tough to imagine how such a small donation could make a difference—unless you join forces with others. In 2012, Daniel Hawkins formed the Dollar Collective. Members each contribute one dollar, and the group decides what random act of generosity to perform with the pool of money. As their first act, they surprised a young couple out for Valentine’s Day and paid for their entire meal. And the couple who received the unexpected free meal? They decided to give the money they saved on dinner to a local charity (as well as buy some treats for their cat).”

First United held their inaugural Family Retreat at Camp Fircom for families from the Downtown Eastside on May 27-29, and urgently needed special donations for some of the children & parents such as rain jackets, sleeping bags, cameras, water bottles, etc., to make it all possible.

With the generous help of our member Frances Dobrzasnki, we purchased and donated cameras, film, water bottles, and flashlights for the families ($100 provided from the DC and $50 from Frances’ own pockets). Thanks, Frances!

Last year one of our members worked at Macdonald school in east van, where a very dedicated, very lovely Italian woman works hard serving breakfast and lunch to all students whether they pay or not. It’s mostly made possible my private donations and some VSB contributions. We decided to donate $80 to the program and give Gina a bottle of wine as a acknowledgment of our her contributions! Thanks Jess Leger for helping organize this event. And thank you, Gina!

For Event #9, we decided to donate $100 to the St James Music Academy. SJMA is a music school in the Downtown Eastside that offers free music education to low income families. All musical instruments, lessons, classes are provided for these kids free of charge, giving them the opportunity to discover and express themselves through music.

Our lucky DC member Leo Margul won the lottery draw and will be spending this years $100 Give Away.

And now, a word from our sponsor, Leo:

“I know it’s been quite a while since I won the holiday raffle, and I apologize for taking so long to reveal what I’ve done with the winnings. So here it is, in video form!

If you don’t want to watch, I surprised depressed open mic comedians here in LA with some free snacks. I only host a mic once a month, and did this 5 times, so that was 5 months. I also gave a random couple a free dinner and some other folks free ice cream. Then I donated to St. Anne’s (http://www.stannes.org/) and organization in LA that helps at-risk women and their families.

Thank you for your patience and the funds to make this possible Dollar Collective!”

With this event, we decided to leave ten random envelopes around public places (buses, libraries, etc.) in Vancouver and Los Angeles, with various amounts of money left inside for strangers. Denominations included $5, $10, and $20, for a total of $120.00. We are also hoping to hear back from the stranger on how they went about spending the money…